The present invention relates to a load carrying arrangement for a lift truck, wherein the truck has a frame and a mounting element which is displaceably mounted on said frame.
There are already known various constructions of lift trucks, among the best known of which are the so-called fork lift trucks. Such lift trucks are self-propelled vehicles which have, usually at their front ends, a support frame or a similar structure on which a mounting element, such as a mounting frame, is mounted at least for up and down movement. Then, carrying means operable for engaging an object to be lifted are mounted on the mounting element for displacement therewith. In some conventional constructions of fork lift trucks, the mounting element is so constructed as to be capable of having a pair of fork prongs mounted thereon. Each of such fork prongs then has a load-engaging portion and a mounting portion which extends at right angle to the load-engaging portion. In one heretofore known arrangement of this type, the mounting portion of each of the fork prongs has an offset at its upper end extending transversely of the remainder of the mounting portion, which is adapted to be engaged with at a correspondingly shaped part of the mounting element and, in order to avoid unintentional or undesired lateral movement of the respective fork prongs relative to the mounting element, a wedge-shaped nose is provided which extends into a recess provided in the mounting element. In this construction, the lower end of the mounting portion abuts against the mounting plate or a similar mounting element. This construction has the disadvantage that each of the fork prongs can be suspended from the mounting element only in such a manner that the load-engaging portion extends from the lower region of the mounting element.
However, this arrangement is suitable only under such circumstances when objects situated at a relatively low elevation are to be lifted, in such a manner that the fork prongs are introduced underneath the object to be lifted. In the event that none of the objects or loads to be lifted is situated at the relatively low elevation, particularly on the floor or another surface over which the fork lift truck is moving, the achieveable lifting height of the conventional fork lift truck is not utilized in an optimum manner.